International rights panel scrutinizes Texas prison heat

WASHINGTON - The head of an international human rights panel recommended Monday that the federal government intercede in a legal dispute over excessive heat in Texas prisons, saying the prisoners' allegations "describe a situation of extreme concern."

Felipe Gonzalez, president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, made the remarks during testimony on a report by the University of Texas Law School's Human Rights Clinic, which alleges that at least 14 Texas inmates have died since 2007 due to extreme heat conditions.

Texas prison officials, challenging the commission's jurisdiction, did not attend the hearing, requesting instead that it be cancelled due to ongoing litigation in the prison deaths.

The hearing was sought by Ariel Dulitzky, director of the Human Rights Clinic, which released its report last April documenting the lack of air conditioning for much of the Texas' 150,900 state prison population. The hearing gave an international dimension to an issue that has led to a flurry of federal lawsuits. Relatives of the dead inmates have filed suits against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. There's also a class action suit alleging civil rights violations.

"We need the commission," Dulitzky said. "The commission is the only one that's listening to us."

A State Department official representing the U.S. government told the commission that the allegations are being handled domestically in the federal court system, and do not need to go before an international body. "We should allow this litigation to work itself out," said Jeffrey Kovar, a State Department lawyer.

Gonzalez said that without taking sides in the dispute, he questioned whether the federal government has done enough to address concerns raised by inmates and their supporters. "To be sure, it is a matter that requires a serious approach on the part of the government," he said.

'Well-being a priority'

Texas prison officials deny that they are violating the human rights of offenders in state custody, saying that they provide measures such as water, ice, fans and extra showers to beat the summer heat.

"The well-being of staff and offenders is a top priority for the agency, and we remain committed to making sure that both are safe during the extreme heat," said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, in a statement Monday.

Texas authorities also cite the expense of retrofitting facilities with air conditioning, although there has been no detailed cost analysis.

Critics say the lack of air conditioning in a climate such as Texas' violates the Constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, as well as international human rights standards.

International agency

Gonzalez's commission is an independent agency within the Organization of American States, with the power to investigate complaints and make recommendations to member nations in the Western Hemisphere. Gonzalez, a Chilean human rights lawyer, gave no timetable for any further action by the commission.

In rejecting the commission's oversight, the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a candidate for governor, argued a member nation's own legal remedies must be exhausted first. "The courts of the United States are more than competent to determine whether any of the alleged violations have merit," Abbott's office wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to the State Department.

State officials also expressed concerns that Dulitzky's human rights clinic has worked closely with the plaintiffs in the federal court cases, including the inmates' families and the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Among those who presented evidence to the commission was Brian McGiverin, of the Texas Civil Rights Project, who noted that 91 of the state's 109 prisons were built since 1980, a time by which air conditioning was in wide use throughout the South.

"The prison system made a conscious decision to deny that basic protection to inmates," he said. At the same time, he said, spending on inmates has not kept up with the growing prison population, leading to dangerous conditions.

"The U.S. State Department itself has identified poor ventilation and stifling heat as violating human rights standards in many countries around the world," he said.

'Unlivable' heat

The Texas law school human rights clinic report found 90 degree temperatures a common occurrence where inmates are housed. "Heat conditions in Texas prisons are unlivable. People are dying and suffering," said Cameron Njaa, a member of Dulitzky's student legal team. "The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is aware of the problem and doing nothing."

Dulitzky and his students asked the commission to investigate conditions in the Texas prisons, make a public statement, and facilitate meetings between state and federal officials to exert more pressure on Texas prison authorities.

Kevin Diaz came to the Houston Chronicle in February 2014 with more than a decade of experience covering Washington. Before that, he was the chief Washington correspondent for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where he got his start in journalism in 1984 as a night cops reporter. During his tenure in Minneapolis, he won awards for his coverage of gang crime and city hall. He also taught public affairs reporting at the University of Minnesota, where he received his Master’s. After a stint at the Washington (D.C.) City Paper, Kevin went back to the Star Tribune, where he won national awards for articles on globalization and immigration. He also covered the 9/11 terrorist attacks from Washington and New York. Born and raised in Italy, Kevin has reported from Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba, where he covered Jesse Ventura’s 2002 trade mission. In 2003, he filed daily Iraq War dispatches for McClatchy Newspapers from the U.S. Central Command in Qatar. In 2006, he covered the presidential election standoff in Mexico. He also has covered Washington for the Anchorage Daily News and the Idaho Statesman.